The Past Is Now Present
by Victoria.Annxx
Summary: Casey was young when it happened, She didn't expect him to understand but he did and it will stay with him for the rest of his life...especially when she arrived in Summer bay and the painful memories came flooding back.
1. Chapter 1

Hi, this is my first story that I've posted so I'm really anxious about what people will think of it. If you read this story, please could you leave a review. It would be really appreciated and would help me know whether it's worth continuing this or not.

Thank you to anyone who does take the time to read this and leave a review, it means a lot. Also there will be no swear words in this story because I don't like swearing and don't believe in it, or blasphemy. As a very strict Christian I would appreciate it if you didn't use the Lord's name in vain or as a way of expressing your feelings. Sorry if I offended anyone.

I would like to say a big thank you to Charlotte Pendragon who encouraged me to post this story. Without her I wouldn't have done it. Thank you very much, you have been a great friend to me. X :)

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I thought it was love, at first. I thought she did it because she loved me, like she loved Heath. But I soon realised it was different to the way she loved Heath. I don't know how but I began to understand that what we were doing was wrong. That it wasn't love. I think I always knew it was wrong, deep down, from the first time she did it, but I was so scared of what she told me would happen that I kept quiet and didn't do anything to stop it like I should have.

She told me that Brax and Heath wouldn't believe me if said anything, especially Heath. They would call me a liar and wouldn't be my brothers any more. They would hate me. I didn't want that to happen, and I believed her when she said it would. I was only eight years old, and I trusted her.

She was a family friend, and was like my big sister. Then her and Heath started dating and I spent a lot more time over at her house. She would walk me home from school because she was doing teacher training at my school, and I would stay with her until Heath would come and get me. It was pretty much always Heath because he wanted to see her at the same time.

After the first time I didn't want it to happen again. I didn't like it and I knew if I went back to her house it would. So I begged Brax to let me start walking home by myself. I told him I was a big boy and could look after myself. Mum would be at home so I wouldn't be alone and I would like it better at my own house. But he said no, he said he didn't want me at home without him there. He had to work so he couldn't come and pick me up either. So I had to go back to her house.

The second time it happened I went back to Brax and pleaded with him once again, but he still said no. Even after I started crying and locked myself in my room to make a statement, when he knew there was something wrong but couldn't get me to tell him, he still said I had to go back. After that I tried again and again with the same result.

I started to change after a while. I became withdrawn and uncommunicative. I wouldn't go out to play with my friends; I spent all my time in my room (especially when she came over to see Heath); I became terrified of going to school (she was there every day) and my work suffered because of it; and I hardly talked to Brax anymore. He noticed more and more every day that something was wrong but I couldn't tell him anything whenever he asked what was going on, not without losing him. In the end he stopped asking and resigned himself to waiting for me to come to him instead. But I never did.

Then one day she left. Her and Heath had a big fight, and the next day she came over to tell him that she had been offered a teaching position at a school a couple of hours away and she was moving. They never made up before she left and their argument is still a sore matter for Heath. He never talked about her again and we weren't allowed to say anything about it or her. I didn't care because I was happy she was gone. For the first time in the year it had been going on I knew things would be better now.

My life went back to normal and I became more like my old self again. Brax saw these changes and also became happy because I was okay again. He never knew what happened during that year and never put the pieces together about the differences in my behaviour before and after she left. It didn't matter though, not anymore. She was gone, that's all that I cared about because it would never happen again.

Ten years later and all the work I put in to make the memories go away so I never had to think about it again, was undone. The second I saw her walk into the classroom I knew that things were going to change, again, and like last time it wouldn't be for the better. When she looked round the classroom I knew she didn't recognize me, not immediately. It was only after she was going through the register and got to my name that she looked straight at me as I said 'here', that I knew it clicked with her.

I didn't want to be in that classroom, I wished I was anywhere else but where I was right then. After the class ended she asked to see me but I didn't stay behind. I rushed out of the classroom along with everyone else and straight out of the school, even though I had another class to attend. I ran home and slammed the door shut as I headed straight for the bathroom where I promptly threw up.

I heard someone run into the bathroom after me and start rubbing my back as I kept throwing up. I was shivering and felt dizzy and before I knew it my vision went blurry then black. When I woke up I was lying on the floor, still in the bathroom with Brax hovering over me with a worried expression on his face. I tried to sit up but couldn't without another wave of nauseau coming over me. I went to throw up again and felt Brax pull me up and lift me over the toilet. When I was finished he gently set me down and got me a glass of water to rinse my mouth.

I couldn't say anything, I was in shock from seeing her again after all this time, as my English teacher. I knew right then my life had just gotten a lot worse then it ever could. I could hear Brax trying to talk to me but all I could do was stare at him without actually seeing him. The next thing was Brax picked me up like he used to when I was younger and carried me through to my bedroom. He placed me on my bed and sat next to me, stroking my hair back off my forehead which was sweaty and sticky from the stress I was under. He didn't leave me and eventually I fell asleep. I didn't wake up until later on that evening and when I did Brax was still there.

I found my voice and asked him what had happened, and he said I just ran into the house and into the bathroom where he saw me throwing up. The next minute I blacked out and came to a few minutes later and continued throwing up. He said I was in some sort of shock and so he brought me into my bedroom so I could sleep. He said I probably had some sort of virus, and when he asked me what happend I just told him I felt sick at school and so came home. I went along with him so I didn't have to bring up the real reason just yet, and he believed me and said I wasn't going to school tomorrow for which I was so grateful I cried.

He thought it was because I was sick, so he held me and comforted me until I calmed down, and when I did we went through to the kitchen because he wanted me to eat something. I went back to bed afterwards and didn't wake up again until lunchtime the next day.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi, thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed the first chapter, I was so shocked to see so many reviews! I didn't expect that many at all, you have no idea how grateful to you all I am.

Here is the second chapter, I hope you like it as much as you liked the first one.

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It wasn't until the next week when I had been in her class for four days that I finally felt brave enough to go home and tell Brax and Heath the truth. I walked in after school to find them both sat watching the television, so I decided it was now or never, and went and sat down beside Heath on the couch, in between them both with Brax sat on the other side in the chair by the window. Brax asked me how school was and I just nodded, mumbling it was okay, and then just blurted it out.

Casey: 'Henri Brown is my new English teacher.'

After I said it the room went quiet and I felt Heath freeze next to me. It was Brax who spoke first, asking me if I was sure, saying it was ten years since I saw her, I could be wrong. But by the look on my face he knew I wasn't wrong. And so did Heath. He slowly got up from the couch and started pacing the room, again slowly, running his hair through his hands before screaming in frustration and throwing a glass that was sat on the table against the wall.

I had never really been affected by Heath's outbursts before, but this time I jumped out of my skin in terror and carefully inched closer to Brax who didn't miss my out of character reaction and in response stood up and put himself between me and Heath as he attemptd to calm Heath down.

It was after that day that Brax started paying more attention to me, and started getting very concerned about me and my reaction to the fact that Henri Brown was back in our lives. The next few months were awkward to say the least. I tried to stay away from Henri apart from when I was in her class and couldn't. When she asked to see me after class I would avoid her and whenever she tried to corner me I asked Sasha and April to quickly intervene. They asked why of course but I just told them that she was harrassing me and I didn't like her. They got the hint that I didn't want to talk about it and so left it alone after a while, but always helped me when I needed them. That was good and I tried to get on with my life like I was before she re-appeared.

As for Brax and Heath, they took on a 'we don't care' attitude and whenever they saw her acted civilly enough but avoided her where they could. Brax didn't actually care as long as she didn't bother me at school and left them alone to get on with their lives without her disrupting everything. As far as he was concerned Henri wasn't his problem, but he still cared about Heath having to deal with her. Heath was polite when he would bump into Henri but would have a rant about her afterwards, their break-up still affecting him and he hated her being back in his life when he had moved on from her and dealt with all that history years ago.

I wished it was that easy for me to deal with her being around again, but I was so scared of her that I could never act brave and civil like them when I saw her. I would always turn and walk the other way when I saw her coming, or when I was with Brax or Heath I would make up an excuse to leave so I wouldn't have to show them how uncomfortable I was around Henri and make them suspicious. Brax was already tuned in to the fact that I had changed since she had become my teacher, and I didn't want him to start putting two and two together and figure out she was the cause of it.

If Brax ever asked me about 'Miss Brown' as I called her, never calling her Henri because of how awkward it made me feel, I would just tell him that she was a tough teacher, hard to please and wouldn't give me a break when I needed it. Brax had offered plenty of times to talk to Gina Palmer and get her to talk to Henri or get me transferred out of her class, but I had refused to let him help, saying that it would make things obvious there was a problem and Henri would argue they were being unreasonable because of her past with Heath. I wanted things to be left alone so that we could get on with our lives and forget about her. Brax didn't push the issue any further when he saw how uncomfortable I was talking about the subject.

I still don't know what the argument between Heath and Henri was about ten years ago, but I knew whatever it was it was serious for Heath to still hate her for it. But I bet it probably wasn't as serious as my reason for hating her. However because Brax and Heath still didn't know about what happened I had to try and act like it wasn't bothering me as much as it was and pretend that I didn't like her because of what happened between her and Heath. But because Brax knew me better than that he knew it wasn't the only reason, and this was why he was so concerned about me since Henri came back.

After Henri came back so did all the problems I had during that year ten years ago. I started having nightmares again, I withdrew from everybody and I didn't talk to Brax as much as I usually do. He got more worried over time and it got to the point where he was forced to lock me in a room with him to try and get me to talk.

It didn't work, and he realised he was doing me more harm than good so he layed off the heavy-handedness and was resigned to again waiting for me to come to him which I knew wasn't going to happen as long as Henri's threat of me losing my brothers still remained, even though it had been ten years and I was eight when she first made the threat. I shouldn't have still been scared of her but I was. And that was one of the reasons I didn't want to talk to Brax, because I didn't want him and Heath to see me as weak for being scared of her.

I thought that they would never find out. I thought it would be the one secret I would die with, the one thing I never told Brax. But it didn't end up like that. She made a mistake, and that's really the only thing that consoled me, that I didn't tell Brax and Heath so Henri's threat wouldn't come true. No, she told them herself, not meaning to of course, but it was her own fault that she was found out.

We came home one day, me from school and Brax and Heath from Angelo's after their shifts, and we found a package waiting for Heath. We took it inside, it didn't have a note with it so he opened it and found a bunch of DVD's of Heath's that we hadn't seen in ten years. We realised they were from Henri, but instead of Heath getting agitated that she had left him a present he was interested to see which ones they were and wondered why Henri had them. I went into my bedroom to get on with some homework, not wanting to talk about Henri, and left Brax and Heath to it.

One of the DVD's was blank, didn't have a name and Heath didn't recognize it, so they played it. It was the worst thing they ever did, and they were quick to realise it. I came out of my room and walked into my worst nightmare come true. Reliving what she did to me.

It was there on the television screen. Me and her in her bed. Naked. Me looking scared out of my mind, crying and not knowing what to do or how to escape; her looking like she was enjoying every minute of it. Up until that moment I had no idea she had recorded what she did. Standing there watching it happen to myself, not a part of it in the present, but it still affecting me the same way all those years ago. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I was in shock and I must have made a sound because Brax and Heath turned around and saw me. They had tears in their eyes and shock all over their faces just like me.

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In the future chapters you will see more of a Casey and Heath relationship, as well as with Brax but it will be a side of Heath we never see in the show. I hope you like how I portray him in this story. There will still be some of the normal Heath though, especially later on. :)


	3. Chapter 3

I'm so happy that so many people like this story, it makes me feel so blessed to have such kind readers.

All these chapters I'm posting at the moment are the chapters I have alreday written, there will be two more chapters after this and then they will get less frequent because I haven't written anymore than that.

Hope you like chapter three. The two chapters following this one will be Casey and Heath centred, and you will see a relationship between them never shown on the show.

I just want to say thank you to everyone who reviews but whom I can't pm to let them know how much your reviews meant to me: Guest, Ruby, Charlie, Bobbi, Cy23 and Shamu. You are amazing, and so are those of you I can pm: HogieBears, Kat Girl 1987 (I tried but your pm is disabled, sorry), Charlotte pendragon and Rebbecabraxton. :)

Just so you know, there should be a break between the first section and before the speech starts, with Casey saying Brax's name. It won't show up for some reason. :)

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They had just been sitting there looking at the television screen, not wanting to believe what they were seeing but knowing it was very real at the same time. They had watched it from the beginning, seen what Henri had done to lure Casey into her bed, heard him ask her to stop, heard him tell her he didn't like it. Heard Henri tell Casey that nobody would believe him if he told anyone, that he would lose his brothers and they would hate him. They heard him cry, and listening to their baby brother cry as Henri abused him was enough to make them both feel sick to their stomachs. They had heard a small intake of breath which had made them both turn around to see Casey stood there, fear in his eyes and shock on his face just like them. He was terrified and they watched as he looked at each of them in turn to be sure they had seen what was on the screen, and then watched as he just collapsed onto the floor.

Casey collapsing was what brought Brax and Heath out of their shock as they both rushed over to him, seeing him lying there with his eyes open with the same look of fear still there. He was shaking and didn't have any control over his body. He was so limp and weak that Brax just picked him up and held him as close to his body as he could get, wrapping his arms around him and cradling him. He started to rock Casey back and forth, as the tears in his eyes finally fell and when Brax started to cry, so did Heath. Heath was never one for showing his emotions, or giving hugs and comforting people, but having just seen that DVD Heath knew that Casey needed him and so did Brax. So Heath moved closer to Brax and enveloped Casey in a hug as well, and soon enough Brax had pulled him even closer and was holding both of his younger brothers in a tight embrace, never wanting to let go.

They must have been sat like that on the floor for hours, because when Brax and Heath came out of their paralysis it was dark. Brax was still holding Heath and Casey close and only loosened his grip when he felt Heath start to pull away a little. He made sure that Heath was good, and Heath did the same with Brax before they both looked at Casey and saw that he was still awake and was still in a catatonic state. They knew they couldn't do anything until he came out of it and they could talk to him, so they decided to take him through to his bedroom and stay with him until he was 'awake' again, after they dealt with the DVD that was still in the player, with the image frozen on the screen of Casey and Henri in her bed. The bed that Heath had been in plenty of times as well. It made him feel sick again just thinking of that.

He told Brax to take Casey into his room while he took the DVD out and put it in a safe place for later, when they would take it to the police. Heath knew that they weren't going to do nothing about this, Henri Brown was going to pay for what she did to their brother, and with this proof she would never get away with it. As he took the DVD out he noticed that it was a one hundred hour DVD, and that every hour was taken up. He didn't want it to be true but he knew that there was a possibility that the whole DVD was just like this. Casey and Henri together. If it was then Heath knew he would throw up before he was able to finish watching all of it. He thought it might be better leaving that discovery to the police instead, he'd have to talk to Brax about it. Right now though he needed to go and be with Casey, because once he came out of this catatonic state he was in right now he was going to need his brothers and Heath and Brax were going to have to talk to Casey about the DVD, a conversation he wasn't looking forward to.

Casey: 'Brax?'

Brax: 'Casey? Casey!'

Casey: 'Heath?'

Heath: 'Hey mate, we're here.'

Brax: 'We're right here Casey, we're right here. I promise.'

Brax and Heath were relieved that Casey had come out of his catatonia. It was about four o'clock in the morning and neither one of them had slept at all, both of them just watching Casey and waiting for him to come out of it. When Brax heard Casey say his name he nearly cried again, thankful that Casey was okay. However he didn't let anymore tears fall because he needed to be strong for Casey and be there for him. Casey didn't need him to be weak right now, he needed him to be his big brother and comfort and protect him, just like he always had. Apart from the one time Casey really needed him and he couldn't be there to stop this from happening.

Casey: 'I didn't know that she recorded it, I didn't know.'

Brax: 'I know mate, it's okay.'

Casey: 'She told me I couldn't tell you, she told me. . .'

Casey trailed off as he started getting upset and distressed. Tears started to form in his eyes and his breathing became shallow as he tried to take in more air in big gulps. Brax knew he needed to calm Casey down so he decided to bring a stop to the conversation and try and get Casey to rest, knowing that eventually he would have to tell them everything, but not wanting to rush him into it and end up pushing him too far.

Brax: 'We know. You don't have to explain, we know what she told you. But it doesn't matter okay. It doesn't matter. You did nothing wrong, you hear me. Nothing. This wasn't your fault. You have to understand that, because it is important. You need to know that you did nothing to bring this on. This was all her. She is the one who did something wrong and she will pay for it. I promise you we won't let her get away with it. Right now we don't need to talk about anything. Right now you need to sleep and calm yourself down. Me and Heath won't leave you, but I don't want you to make yourself sick.'

After he listened to Brax's words and properly understood them, that Brax didn't blame him or hate him for what happened, and neither did Heath, Casey started crying as he realised that Henri's threats weren't real. They were fake so their secret wouldn't be found out. Brax and Heath were never going to stop being his brothers if he told them what was happening to him. He could have told them from the beginning and stopped it all. This was why he was so upset.

Brax just held him as he cried, talking softly to him with gentle words, soothing him until his crying stopped and his breathing got easier. Brax kept hold of him even when he fell asleep, knowing that after he had been upset Casey slept better when he was cuddled up close to Brax. Years of this happening when Casey was little had taught him well and he wasn't about to stop now when he knew his baby brother would need him more than he ever did before.

He knew what Casey was thinking, that if he had told them what was happening ten years ago it could have been stopped and he wouldn't have had to suffer through it again and again. From what Henri had said on the tape, she had made Casey believe that telling his brothers what they had done would make them hate him and never want to see him again. Casey thought he would lose them and he was so scared the threat would come true that he kept quiet and endured what was probably months of pain because of it.

Thinking back to a few months ago, when Henri came back into their lives, Brax remembered how Casey's behaviour had changed so suddenly, and how introverted and quiet he had become. He hadn't been normal for a while and now it all made sense. That day that Casey came home because he felt sick wasn't because he had a virus. It was because he had seen her again after all this time. It was probably a huge shock and Brax knew it had scared Casey enough that it made him physically sick. When he cried after Brax told him he wasn't going to school the next day, it wasn't the sickness making him upset, it was relief that he wouldn't have to see Henri again. Casey had known for at least five days before he told Brax and Heath that Henri was in Summer Bay, and he had to deal with that himself before he told them.

Brax decided that for now they would keep quiet about everything until they had a chance to talk to Casey, find out exactly what had happened between him and Henri ten years ago and decide how they were going to proceed before telling anyone else about their discovery. He knew that Henri was a teacher and that allowing her to continue working in a school full of children after they knew what she was wasn't the smartest thing to do, but right now Brax's main concern was Casey, and by telling the police and Gina Palmer about who Henri really was would throw Casey into the middle of a horrific police investigation that he wasn't ready to deal with yet.

They had the DVD as proof and when the time was right they would go to the police with everything they had, and hopefully when they did Casey would be able to talk to them about what happened to him and tell them everything without it breaking him down. Speaking of the DVD Brax wanted to know what Heath had done with it.

Heath: 'I put it in my room for now, in a safe place. I didn't want it going conveniently missing before we had a chance to take it to the police. Especially if Henri found out we knew. I think she accidently slipped the DVD into the rest of the ones she meant to give back to me. If she finds out its missing she might realise we have it, panic and run. I don't want to spook her and let her get away with what she did. For all we know Casey wasn't the only one.'

Brax: 'I know but right now Casey is the only one we know of and he's the only one I'm concerned about. As long as we keep a low profile for a few days, try and act like nothing is wrong, we shouldn't give her anything to worry about. I'll ring Gina and tell her Casey's sick, and then I'll ring Liam and let him know he's in charge for a few days. I'm not leaving Casey for a second, not while she's in the same town as us and knows where we live.'

Heath: 'There's something else about the DVD I found out.'

Brax: 'Yeah? What?'

Heath: 'It's a one hundred hour disc. We only saw the first hour.'

Brax: 'You mean there could be another ninety nine hours of that. . .that. . .filth. . .on the DVD! Forget it, I'm not watching any more of it. It stays in your safe place until we take it to the police. They can watch it if they want but I'm not going to subject myself to that ever again. It will be bad enough listening to Casey telling us what happened.'

Heath: 'Yeah. I know what you mean.'

After that Brax and Heath lapsed into silence. Heath eventually fell asleep lying next to Brax and Casey on Casey's bed. Brax moved into a better position where he was lying down with Casey wrapped in his arms, his head on Brax's chest. He stayed awake for a while after Heath fell asleep, deciding to stay awake until the morning, make the relevant phone calls and then let him himself get some rest. It wasn't like they were going anywhere during the day. The doors were locked and the curtains drawn across all the windows. No one could get in and disturb them so they were safe. As safe as they could be with Henri Brown the child molester walking free among them. But hopefully, Brax thought, not for much longer.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you once again for all your reviews!

Guest, you're right, Henri is disgusting for taping it, but I read somewhere that around 70 percent of child molesters tape their abuse to relive it later. Horrifying and disgusting, but I thought it would make a bigger impact on Brax and Heath if they watched the abuse for themselves and this is how they found out about it, rather than find out from Casey who would be too scared to tell them what happened. Especially because of Henri's threat.

Just so you know, the next chapter will be the last for now because these ones are the only ones I have written at the moment. I will try to update as frequently as I can and not make you wait for new chapters, and I hope everyone who reads and reviews this story will still be here if the chapters aren't as often as these first five.

If there is anything you would like to see happen in future chapter, such as conversations or certain scenes between the brothers let me know in your reviews and I will try my best to include your ideas in the upcoming chapters. I'm interested to see your ideas on what might happen in the future.

Hope you enjoy! :)

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Heath winced as Casey once again bent over the toilet and threw up for what had to be the tenth time in half an hour. He had woken up after Casey had stood on him in his rush to get out of his bed and into the bathroom before he ended up being sick on the carpet instead of in the toilet. Heath, realising something was wrong rushed after Casey and found him barely able to hold himself upright as he emptied his stomach. He had run over to his brother and held him up until he was finished, and then he helped Casey to sit on the floor while he got him a glass of water. Casey hadn't even taken three sips when he pushed Heath out of the way to get to the toilet again.

Not really knowing what to do except rub Casey's back and hold him over the toilet until he was finished, Heath half wondered about waking Brax up and getting him to deal with this. Heath wasn't really the motherly instinct type person like Brax was. He didn't know how to deal with somebody who was sick, having always left that part of Casey's childhood to Brax. However he decided against waking Brax, knowing that he had probably still been awake for quite a while after he had fallen asleep and so wanted to let him get a proper rest and a break from having to always be the one to look after everybody else.

Heath knew that he should be starting to step up a bit more, be a more responsible person and a better big brother to Casey. Be a more caring and sensitive person, especially since Casey wasn't like him and couldn't hide his emotions like Heath could. He couldn't push them away and Heath had made fun of him for that his whole life. Recently he had been starting to understand that for Casey being so different hadn't been easy for him, and now that he knew what had happened to him when he was just a kid, still a baby really, Heath realised how someone had taken advantage of Casey's different personality.

They had preyed on his trusting nature, his kindness, his oversensitiveness, his weak emotional state. Instead of protecting Casey from Henri Brown, he was too busy tormenting him and humiliating him in front of the River Boys, showing them how Casey could never be one of them. He was exploiting Casey and putting him out there for anyone to mess with, because the way Heath paraded his weakness to everybody, there wasn't a single person in Mangrove River that didn't know how to prey on Casey and hurt him in so many different ways. He wished so hard he could change all of that, take back everything he ever did to Casey or let happen to Casey because of him and his stupid childish attitude. He still acted like that now, but as of today things were going to change. Starting now.

So the first thing Heath knew he could do to start to change his ways and become a better brother was to take on some of the responsibility for Casey and look after him while he was sick so Brax could have the break he deserved. Heath knew that Casey wasn't sick because of any bug or something like that, it was because of the tape and everything coming out into the open. He may not have finished school and may not have been as smart as Brax or Casey, but that didn't make him stupid. He had managed to put two and two together himself and, just like Brax, figured out that Casey being sick a few months ago wasn't because of a virus then either, but because of Henri.

He hadn't said anything, still processing the fact that his little brother had been abused by his girlfriend and he never suspected anything, not even when Casey would start acting up whenever Henri came round to their place or Brax would make him go to Henri's place after school. He thought it was jealously, that Casey had some stupid crush on Henri and he hated seeing Heath with her because of it. He had even accused him of it one time. Brax had gone mental when Heath had shoved Casey up against a wall and threatened him to stop being such an ass towards Henri because she wouldn't want anything to do with him anyway.

Brax had punched him and kicked him out of the house for nearly a week. He still remembered how hysterical Casey had been, crying so much it made him ill. Brax had told him that if ever did anything like that again he would be out of the house for good, and then he told Heath that his suggestion that Casey had a crush on Henri was ridiculous because Casey was only eight. He didn't even properly understand what crushes were at that age. Heath had felt pretty guilty and realised how stupid his actions were when he moved back to the house after Brax allowed him to, and Casey wouldn't come anywhere near him for a month. He wouldn't stay at home with Heath alone and he would insist Brax stay with him until he fell asleep. Eventually Casey forgave Heath but somehow Heath knew that Casey never really trusted him again. He hoped that he could make up for that now, especially as Casey's motives for acting so badly against Henri all those years ago were now out in the open.

Heath had woken up slightly at around half seven in the morning, having glanced at Casey's clock on his bedside table, and he had seen Brax over by Casey's window on the phone to someone. From what he could gather from Brax's end he was making the calls to Gina Palmer and Liam that he said he would so they could have a few days at home with Casey alone to start to deal with the aftermath of that DVD. He had kept his eyes closed so Brax still thought he was asleep, but he actually stayed awake until Brax had gotten back onto Casey's bed, rearranged himself so Casey was safely in his arms again and Heath heard Brax's breathing even out as he fell asleep. That was when Heath allowed himself to drift off again, only to be woken up at seven minutes past one in the afternoon when he felt a sharp pain shoot up his leg, and when he opened his eyes he saw Casey struggling to get off the bed, having stepped on his leg in the process which is what Heath realised the pain was from.

He followed Casey into the bathroom, realising something was wrong and wanting to know why he was in such a hurry to get off the bed, only to walk in on Casey throwing up. That was why he found himself half an hour later still in the bathroom, waiting for Casey's nausea to eventually end so he could move Casey back into the bedroom where he would be more comfortable. However as Casey kept getting worse, then slightly better every time as the time between him throwing up started to increase and the amount of stuff Casey was actually bringing up decreased, Heath thought it may just be easier to stay in the bathroom even after Casey stopped throwing up so as not to disturb Brax, and so they were already close to the toilet if Casey had a relapse.

An hour later found Heath sitting on the bathroom floor leaning against the wall, with Casey lying on the floor next to him his eyes closed as he finally felt the nausea disappearing, holding onto Heath's hand and squeezing it slightly every time it would come back or he would get a pain in his stomach. Casey had started to complain of the stomach cramps after he had nothing left in his stomach to throw up, so he was reduced to dry-heaving every time he leant over the toilet. All Heath could do was help him to try and drink some water and hope that it stayed down, and just wait for Casey's symptoms to ease off, knowing from experience that he couldn't give Casey any pain killers on an empty stomach, especially because he was still throwing up at that point. When Brax woke up he would ask him about what to do next, knowing that there was nothing they could do until Casey could eat something without throwing it straight back up.

Casey had never held Heath's hand before. Never. When he was little Heath had always rejected Casey's efforts of trying to form a close bond with his big brother. Brax had always let Casey hold his hand. He had picked him up and cuddled with him as well, everything that Heath wouldn't do because he thought it was silly. It wasn't something a River Boy should do. Even if it was his own brother. So now that Heath was actually letting it happen, when Casey was eighteen, it felt strange and odd, but comforting at the same time.

For the first time Heath felt closer to Casey than he thought he could ever be. He had never had this type of brotherly moment with him before and if Heath was absolutely honest, he really liked it. Instead of just saying he had two brothers, now he actually really meant it. He had two brothers and he loved them more than anything else in this world. Heath never thought that this type of relationship could ever happen with Casey. And now that it was he was happier than ever, despite the circumstances that lead them to this point.


	5. Chapter 5

Glad people like the Casey and Heath relationship, here's the last chapter that is already written. The updates will get slower from now on, but I promise to try and not make you wait too long. Thank you for following and adding this story to your favourites. Hope you enjoy the latest chapter. :)

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Casey: 'Heath?'

Heath: 'Hey Casey, you okay mate?'

Casey: 'I'm sorry.'

Heath: 'Whoa Casey, you have nothing to be sorry for. I mean it. Don't apologise because this isn't your fault.'

Casey: 'What if I could have stopped it. I could have told someone. Ignored her threats.'

Heath: 'You couldn't have stopped it mate, no matter what you did. Okay? And the reason you didn't ignore her threats was because you were eight years old, a kid, and you believed her. You were scared and that's okay. Me and Brax aren't angry at you, and we know that none of it was your fault.'

Casey: 'When H. . .H. . .she. . .said that you and Brax wouldn't believe me and would hate me for it, I believed her. All these years I still did. I kind of started to believe that Brax wouldn't hate me, that he would believe me no matter what, but you. . . I was scared that I would lose you, that you would never talk to me again. I wanted to believe it wouldn't happen, that I was being stupid, but I couldn't. Because I knew how definite it would be that I would lose you as a brother.'

Heath: 'I never wanted to make you feel like that. Ever. I love you Casey, you're my baby brother, and I could never walk away from you forever. I know that I. . .had my problems with you when we were younger but none of it was ever your fault. It was me, I was an idiot and everything I did to you wasn't fair. I admit though, if you had told us ten years ago what she was doing to you I wouldn't have believed you, but now, having seen that tape and seen what she did to you, I could never believe you were making things up. I only wish that I had seen the signs earlier and not given you such a hard time over hating Henri so much. And I know Brax probably feels the same way.'

Casey: 'I love you too Heath.'

At that both brothers looked at each other and Casey saw tears in Heath's eyes, so he squeezed Heath's hand, wanting him to know that everything was good between them.

Casey: 'I don't want to know what else is on the tape.'

Heath: 'What?'

Heath was caught off guard by Casey's statement, still caught up in the brotherly moment.

Casey: 'The tape. I know that there's probably more on it, but I don't want to know. If the police are involved, and they watch it, can you make sure they don't tell me what's on it.'

Heath: 'Yeah mate, I promise. Me and Brax have decided that we are going to let the police look at the rest of that tape. We don't want to watch anymore of that. . .what was on it. We can't watch you go through that again.'

Casey: 'I wish I'd never seen that tape! I wish it was all still buried. I can't do this again!'

Casey started to become hysterical and was crying, and Heath saw him start to lose control of his breathing. He knew Casey was having a panic attack and so sat him up as best he could, and moved behind Casey so he could support him. He held on to Casey and tried to get him to breathe slowly and calm down, all the while finding it hard to cope himself listening to his brother cry. He was definitely not used to this, having never shown any sort of emotion except for anger and hate around Casey, and having never seen Casey in this sort of state before. All he knew to do was calm him down enough that he could start breathing properly again, and then hope that he tired himself out with his crying.

It worked, and ten minutes later Casey had fallen into a light sleep in his arms. Heath didn't let go of him however, liking how Casey snuggled into him, and how it felt natural. Like Casey belonged there in his arms. He moved into a more comfortable position, leaning up against the bathroom wall again, moving slowly and quietly so as not to wake Casey, and when he was settled lightly stroked his fingers through Casey's hair which was damp from sweat, imagining what this would have been like to do with Casey when he was younger and had his fluffy hair that Brax always said felt like touching feathers. He knew what Brax meant, even though Casey was over ten years older now and his hair was sticky and damp, not soft and dry. They were sat like that for a while, Heath feeling comforted by Casey's slow, even breathing which he checked on now and then to make sure Casey was okay and wasn't in any trouble at all.

Ever since Casey was a baby he had had problems with his breathing, needing constant monitoring during the night until he was a toddler to make sure he didn't suddenly stop breathing. Brax had stayed up all night to watch him, and had moved Casey's cot into his bedroom and away from his parents so Casey would be safer, especially when the doctors told them the most common cause of these problems was when the baby was still in utero and the mother was a frequent smoker, just like their mother.  
When he would cry and get himself worked up Casey was in danger of hyperventilating and unable to breathe on his own, which meant he would stop breathing and would have to be attached to a portable ventilator which the hospital gave them. He had seen Brax struggle to get Casey breathing again after one of these episodes and it had scared him, but not enough to stay and help Brax look after Casey. He had always left and wouldn't even care when Brax wouldn't get any sleep because he was up with Casey all night. Heath had always refused to help out, saying he had better things to do and eventually Brax gave up asking. He took this as a sign that Brax didn't need his help anymore, refusing to accept the real reason that he was too tired of Heath not caring and couldn't be bothered arguing with him anymore, because Heath was afraid of feeling guilty over this. He shouldn't feel guilty, he believed, Brax was the big brother therefore it was his responsibility.

As Casey got older he didn't rely on the ventilator as much when he got upset, but he still had trouble whenever he became hysterical. It was one of the reasons Brax got so mad with him, the day Heath had pinned Casey against the wall. They were lucky that Casey hadn't needed to go to the hospital because Heath doubted Brax would have ever let him back in the house, having devoted his life to protecting Casey, and so if he thought Heath was a danger to him he would have dealt with it.

Since then panic attacks and other breathing problems were always a worry for Brax and Casey, knowing that a simple cough could result in something much more serious. As he got older Casey's body got a lot better at handling different problems and he started to adjust so he was more like a normal person. But his breathing problems would never go away, and nobody knew what would set them off again.

Heath felt like he had been sat in the bathroom with Casey for hours, just watching him sleep and mourning all the years that he had lost of being a big brother. He would never get those years back, but he could start to fix that now. With Brax and Casey's help he would become a better person and a better brother both to Casey, and to Brax, so that he could pay Brax back for all the years Brax had looked after him and raised him as well, and all Heath had ever done was throw it all back in Brax's face.

He had made all of his new resolutions final in his head when he heard footsteps and turned to the door in time to see Brax appear, looking slightly worried and relieved at the same time, probably over waking up and finding that Casey and Heath were missing but happy to find them safe in the bathroom. His expression then turned to confusion, as he quietly walked into the bathroom and sat down in front of Heath, having seen Casey was asleep and not wanting to disturb him. His confusion, Heath knew was because Brax didn't know why they were in the bathroom and because he was shocked at the scene in front of him. Heath sat with Casey in his arms, cradling him and stroking his hair. Brax knew that Heath had never displayed this kind of emotion, ever, and so Heath found it amusing, despite the horrific situation they were in, that he could shock Brax like that.

Heath: 'He got sick, really sick. I followed him in here and stayed with him. You needed to sleep and I could deal with him.'

Brax: 'You could have woken me, I wouldn't have minded.'

Heath: 'Like I said, you needed the sleep. Besides, we were fine.'

Brax: 'How long has he been asleep?'

Heath: 'What time is it?'

Brax: 'Coming up to four o'clock.'

Heath: 'He's probably been asleep for an hour and a half. He got upset and his crying tired him out.'

Brax: 'Is he okay? Why was he upset?'

Heath: 'He asked me to make sure he didn't find out what else was on the tape. He said that if the police watched it he wanted us to tell them not to tell him. He then got distressed and wished he'd never seen the tape and that none of this was happening. He settled after about ten minutes, but it was still hard to see him so upset.'

Brax: 'I knew there was a chance of this happening, of Casey reacting like this to the tape. I just hope he understands that everything that happens from now on is to help him and that we won't let anything happen to him. He has to be ready before we involve the police, otherwise we'll just hurt him more.'

Heath: 'Well I hope that it's sooner rather than later, because I don't want to keep this from the police longer than we need to. I want her arrested and behind bars now, and for life for what she did to Casey.'

Brax: 'I know, and I want the same thing. But I won't push him.'

They fell quiet for a few minutes, Brax observing Heath's interaction with Casey. He had never seen Heath like this before, so brotherly or caring toward Casey, and he had never seen Heath hold or touch Casey like that ever. The only time they ever touched each other was if they were fighting.

Brax: 'I've never seen you like this before.'

Heath: 'What do you mean?'

Brax: 'With Casey, so gentle. So caring.'

Heath: 'He needed me, and so I was here for him. You know what's strange? This feels natural, like I'm used to it. I feel like I could stay here with him forever. I never knew what holding Casey like this felt like before, never knew what touching him felt like. The feel of his hands, the smell of his skin, the way his hair is just how you used to describe it. Like feathers. I don't know why, but I miss this, even though I've never felt it before. And now I have, I wish I had taken the chance to hold him when he was younger. To be there for him back then, just like you were.'

Brax: 'You may not have had the chance back then, but you do now. And Casey is going to need you more than ever. Take the chance while you have it, and don't waste any more time. This time we have together is important and you need to remember this for the rest of your life, because these kind of memories don't fade. Right now, the situation we are in isn't what we would like or what we want to remember in five years time, but this moment right now, Casey in your arms, this is what you will remember. I remember every moment like this that I ever had with him, and you. And when you're older than you are now, this is what you will remember too, and you'll be so happy for those memories.'

Heath: 'Believe me, I'll never forget this.'

Heath's simple statement was said with tears rolling down his cheeks, and Brax laid a hand on his arm, connecting all three brothers together in that moment. Brax and Heath knew it would be a moment that neither of them would ever forget, and over the next few years Heath wanted to make more memories like this. Memories that he would never let go of, memories he would hold till the day he died.


	6. Chapter 6

Hello everyone, it's been so long since I last updated and for that I am so sorry. You all have every right to hate me and I don't expect forgiveness from you. All I can hope is that these future chapters will make up for the long wait.

This chapter is really just a filler, and probably so will be the next one or two. I'm not sure yet but they are fillers until I get to the point in the story that I have all planned. I don't really like this one but it was all I could come up with, so tell me what you think of it. Again anything you would like to see or any ideas you have let me know and I will see what I can do.

I look forward to your responses, I've missed them quite a lot. :) xx

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Casey was in pain. Not physical pain, he was pretty sure Henri had put him through enough physical pain when he was eight to last a lifetime. No. He was in emotional pain. Five days ago his life had been turned upside down, again, because of the same issue. His abuse. He thought he had put it all behind him, had forgotten it and would never have to go back there. Nobody knew except for him, and of course, her. She had been out of their lives for so long he thought he would never see her again and everything would stay in the past. But he was wrong. The second he laid eyes on her in that classroom everything came flooding back, all the memories he had repressed, all the pain he remembered feeling after every time she did it, all the lies and secrets. And he knew that no matter what he did to try and prevent it, things weren't going to stay in the past for very long.

Two days after Brax and Heath had seen the DVD, they had sat Casey down and gently encouraged him to talk to them and tell them everything, explain to them what they had seen in his own words and what had happened off camera. They said they needed to know to be able to help him. At the time Casey was still numb, still reeling from everything coming out after ten years and his brothers finally knowing. He didn't want to talk about it, he didn't want to tell them everything that happened. But his thoughts about not wanting to talk about it and the part of his brain that controlled his mouth didn't communicate and he found himself spilling it all. It took him hours to get it all out, and that was without stopping.

It was like he was in a trance, explaining to them exactly what happened to him every time, and no matter how hard he tried to stop himself he couldn't. He didn't stop talking until everything was out and he had said all he needed to, and told them everything Henri had done to him over that whole year. And then he stopped. Not just after he had spilled everything and given Brax and Heath time to digest it all, he stopped talking completely. And now, in the present, Casey still hadn't said anything. And it had been three days. Not that long to most people, but for Brax and Heath, Casey knew it was long enough, too long actually. But for him, being silent for three days hadn't phased him. To be honest he hadn't really noticed he had stopped talking. He was more preoccupied with trying to keep himself sane, not let himself have a nervous breakdown and avoiding all the thoughts in his head that were trying to tell him how to end the pain he was in to pay much attention to whether he was talking or not.

It was only now, this morning, after Brax had come to him and begged him to say something, that Casey realised how much time he had spent alone inside his head and how long it had been since he had last spoken with his brothers, making him see how worried he had made them. But even after this, Casey still hadn't been able to say anything, not even a single syllable for Brax to help ease his panic and concerns over his baby brother. Casey was in too much pain, everything being too much for him to cope with, and he couldn't make his brothers understand any of it because they hadn't lived through it like he had. They hadn't been in his place and could never possibly understand what he was going through, and it was because of this that Casey hadn't gone to them and tried to talk to them.

Casey was in pain. Emotional pain. He couldn't stop it. It wouldn't go away. He wanted Brax and Heath to take it away, like big brothers were supposed to. But they couldn't. His mind had been telling him all along how to get rid of it, how to ease it to make it easier for him to deal with, but he didn't want to listen. He didn't want to go there and hurt Brax and Heath more than he had already hurt them by having his secret come out. He had to try and stay strong for them. He had to. He just hoped he had enough strength to do that so he could let Brax and Heath help him to deal with his secret before his mind won and he let himself fall prey to weakness.


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